For decades, hockey was the overlooked sibling of North American sports. Beloved by diehards but rarely celebrated in the mainstream, it lived in the shadows of basketball, football, and baseball when it came to cultural influence. Jerseys weren’t fashion statements. Players weren’t marketed as style icons. The game felt trapped on the ice.
But something changed.
A new generation of young stars is rewriting the narrative. Players like Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak, Trevor Zegras, Cale Makar, and Jack Hughes aren’t just athletes, they’re cultural figures. They’ve embraced fashion, music, and personal branding in a way hockey has never seen before, bringing the sport into the same cultural conversations as the NBA. Suddenly, hockey isn’t just a game, it’s a movement.
That cultural shift is being reinforced by the league and teams themselves. Artists, musicians, and designers are stepping onto the ice:
Justin Bieber x Drew House created a bold, reversible “Next Gen” jersey for the Toronto Maple Leafs featuring smiley faces, Toronto skyline motifs, and tie-dye that debuted during the Next Gen Game. And Bieber even served as celebrity captain of Team Matthews at the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. Vanity FairPeople.comGQ
Detroit Red Wings & Columbus Blue Jackets unveiled auto- and military-inspired jerseys for the 2025 Stadium Series, drawing from Detroit’s automotive legacy and Ohio’s Civil War history—bringing storytelling directly into uniform design. Midland Daily News
The Avalanche’s Reverse Retro jersey reimagined its Quebec Nordiques past with a clean, modern aesthetic that drew praise for elevating the team’s visual identity. Axios
These projects show that hockey has grown up, its design and storytelling are now part of broader cultural currents.
For me, this moment is deeply personal. I grew up on the ice. Hockey was my first love before art fully took hold. Hockey’s design language is powerful: bold jerseys, sculptural gear, iconic masks, and the cold glow of arena lights. These elements beg to be reimagined through illustration, still life, and fine art. Just like sneakers, cars, and pop culture, hockey becomes the next touchstone I reinterpret, bridging my personal story with the sport’s cultural rise.
This is only the beginning. I’ll be exploring hockey in upcoming works, still life studies of gear, portraits of players, and abstracted visuals that capture the game's atmosphere. It’s both a way to honor my past and to join hockey’s future as it claims its rightful place in mainstream culture.
Art has always been my way of reframing the world around me. And right now, hockey has become culture, that makes it the perfect canvas.